In a somewhat unplanned phenomenon, Jung’s wood-crafted furniture pieces began to receive recognition outside of his town.

It all started rather coincidentally, since one of his previous clients died and all her belongings were claimed by her surviving son. The son, who has his own family now, decided to sell everything and keep only the pictures and other personal memorabilia. He and his wife gathered everything and began a sort of garage sale in the neighborhood. The house unfortunately did not belong to him or his mother, despite his family living there for more than 50 years, because every piece of land is owned by the state, and therefore the house within it is unsaleable. But the furniture, however, belongs to his mother, so he can sell those at least.

One of the pieces of furniture they are selling is a beautiful mahogany table with intricate patterns on the table’s legs and on its sides. It has a glossy vinyl finish that really emphasizes the color of the wood and protects it from the elements. His wife wanted to keep it, but their house simply wouldn't be able to hold such a large table. And so the table was sold for 58,000 won, or just under $60. Curiously, a few years later, the same buyer was asking around their neighborhood if they still had more of the same furniture that they had sold before and was willing to pay good money for another piece of that furniture.

It turned out that expert furniture sellers who have been in the game for a very long time had seen Jung’s work and could not identify the coating used on the item, which made it look good and last for a very long time. Also, the sanding process was done so remarkably well that even the tiny, intricate sculpting was well preserved. It was simply a revolutionary new process they knew nothing of, and they wanted to talk to the artist who made it. But no one knows who he or she is. All they know are the initials, JHK, etched elegantly under the table, which gives them the idea that the table was made by a master.

Years later, a new JHK masterpiece came out when a storage warehouse was opened, and they discovered a cabinet with the same process finish and the signature JHK etched on the back. That cabinet was sold in an auction for 22.8 million KW or just over $17,500. From then on, Jung’s work became a classic and was sought after by the rich and powerful in the land.

*****

That same artist was actually sparring at that very moment in a small gym in a middle-of-nowhere province.

16-year-old Kim Jung Hee steadily approached his opponent in the ring as the older boy moved around him. Last year, there was a major renovation in the Gungho gym when the owner, Old Man Dongyun, installed a crappy but functional boxing ring in the side of the gym, and it easily became the center point of his little business.

“You could have spent some of your money to spruce up the place,” one of his old-timer coaches complained as the ring was being built.

“Why? I already have the best cleaning machines in town,” Dongyun said, jerking a thumb at Jung Hee and Bon Won, who were bringing in planks of wood for the carpenter builders of the ring.

The other coach snorted.

Jung Hee actually asked to build the ring for him for half the asking price of the carpenters, but Dongyun shooed him away. The kid just wanted to get a quick buck, but he already trusted his longtime carpenters.

In the end, Jung didn’t mind. The boxing ring was built in a reasonable amount of time, and now he gets to use it. When he did step into the ring, he was satisfied with the workmanship, although he still believed he could do better for half the price. Oh well, he thought to himself. You can’t win them all.

Last year, when he was still 15, Jung’s gym training transitioned from repetitive moves on the mat to actual sparring in the ring. He is chosen because of his well-proven toughness, and he is used as both a practice guy for anyone who wants to improve their stand-up game or their ground game. At that point, Jung is almost treated by the rest of the members as staff and not just a member. Either way, everyone of the old timers, including Bon Won, had a healthy respect for Jung’s commitment to the gym and normally asked him for advice on training specific parts of the body.

Now Jung is being used by Old Man Dongyun as a sparring partner for a guest from a partner gym. The guest, who is planning to enter the next local martial arts competition in the next province, wanted to practice in the Gungho gym since no one in his own gym can give him any more challenges. Jung Hee is the closest guy in his age range, so he is partnered with him.

Jung is made to watch old tapes of the guest’s opponent, and he is asked to imitate the opponent so their guy can practice dealing with him.

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The guest’s opponent was a veteran who patiently waited for you to run out of steam before punching you to oblivion. Jung incorporated the style, and now they are facing in the ring. The other guy is 19 years old, going on 20, and he is fast on his feet.

Jung’s arms are up, protecting his face as he inches closer, hounding his prey. The young fighter ran rings around him and threw a couple of punches. Jung didn’t react except by blocking them. He took another step forward.

“Watch his left foot! "screamed the other fighter’s coach. “He is trying to trap you! ”

Jung didn’t mind. This is just a practice spar, not a real fight. He is supposed to help the guy find a good plan to defeat his real opponent. So he exaggerated his approach once more, helping his opponent get a feel for his movement.

Unfortunately, the other fighter is getting cocky and smirking as he moves to Jung’s left and throws a barrage of punches. Jung intercepted him with a quick turn and came a half-step closer. The other guy hesitated and then turned the other way. Again, Jung blocked him. He took a half-step forward.

Now, Jung was within range of his body, and he threw a few jobs of his own. Instead of forcing his way to the side and forcing a reset of Jung’s range, The fighter decided to lean back and wait for a counter. Jung shoved him with his shoulder, and the next thing the other fighter knew, he was in the corner.

“Damn it! Get the hell out of there! ”

Jung started throwing his jabs, all targeting the head, to disorient his opponent. Try smirking now, fuckface, Jung thought with a smile.

The opponent raised his arm to protect his face and started weaving in a sort of figure-eight head movement to make his head a harder target. Jung approved.

Jung kept throwing jabs while the coach yelled at his fighter to escape. Idly, Jung liked the snappy sound of his jabs as he followed the moving head. Unfortunately for the other fighter, Jung already mapped his “random” head bobs, and his jabs were hitting, although Jung predicted that it was more like a grazing hit than an actual solid ones.

Jung Hee expected the guy to escape to his left, and that is why he kept his right arm next to his temple to protect his head from the incoming counter. Meanwhile, he continued his jabs.

Bam!

Bam! Bam!

Bam!

Bam! Bam! Bam!

What is he waiting for? …

“Stop! Stop! Sonofav- Stop! ”

Jung immediately took a step back and stopped, confused, when the coaches started entering the ring. Then he looked at his opponent.

The young man was still leaning on the corner with his arms up. Only then did Jung realize that his back was the only thing keeping him up. The moment the coach touched him, his arm fell to the ground, and he slid down to the floor.

He was out cold.

If Jung didn’t have a mouth guard, his mouth would be on the floor right now. How the hell... ? When did that happen?! He thought to himself.

"I... I didn't see,” Jung confessed. "I thought he was still moving, and... shit man, I didn’t know.”

Old man Dongyun just nodded right next to him. “It was the last few jabs,” he explained. “Actually, all your jabs were effective. They were compact and lightning-quick. He felt all of them. It was just that his body took a little longer to receive the bad news. By then, it was too late; he was out. The last two jabs entered his block like his arms were just papers.”

“Stretcher! "Screamed one of the assistant coaches, and one was brought in. Two more guys entered the ring with the stretcher, and one of them is Bon Won. He nodded to Jung and then carefully placed the other fighter on the stretcher and carried him out.

“He is out cold, but he is breathing normally. And there was no internal bleeding. But just to be sure, I’m escorting him to the clinic after he wakes up. We’ll wait, then wake him up again,” the opponent’s coach reported to Dongyun, who simply nodded gravely.

Then the coach turned and glared at Jung, who flinched at his gaze. “We came here to train,” he said. “Did you really need to destroy him like that? ”

“Stop it, Seong-jin,” the gym owner interrupted with a growl. “My boy followed the plan we gave him. While your guy got cocky, and you know it.”

The other coach still glared at Jung for a moment longer before grunting.

“Do you know that Jung here is a grappler? His first instinct when he fights is to grab your limb and bring you to the ground. And yet he stayed on his feet and fought with his fist. Like we expect your fighter’s real opponent will do next month.”

There was a surprise in the other coach’s eye, and then he shook his head. “What the fuck am I going to do now? ”

“The same thing we always do,” Dongyun said harshly. “You keep your fighter healthy and train him some more. So his debut fight got delayed—no big deal. It only means he has more time to train for his real debut.”

The coach nodded slowly, and then he silently left the ring.

Dongyun turned to Jung, who was having problems untying the knots in his gloves. Somehow, he tied both hands together and is trying to get it off with his teeth. He shook his head.

The new guy wasn’t aware of or ready for Jung's legendary jabs. Unlike the people in his own gym, any regular in Gungho would never fight Jung Hee in a straight-up punch fest. The moment they got cornered, they will grab Jung and bring him to the ground. It won't be a great setup since Jung love it on the ground too, but at least they have a fighting chance. Taking those jabs to the face all day is just straight-up stupid.

“Coach, I-”

“You did nothing wrong," Dongyun cut him off. “In fact, you did good kid. Why don’t you take the day off today? And I’ll add another 2 weeks to your membership, free of charge.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, go and clean up. Then do... do whatever you youngster do with your free time.”

"But... who will clean the gym? ”

The old coach smirked. “That’s what Bon Won is here for,” he said with a gleam in his eyes.

Jung left the gym quickly.